Did you know there is a national holiday devoted to soft serve ice cream? Yes and it’s quickly approaching. No need to have a meltdown…we’ve put together an entire website devoted to helping you celebrate National Soft Serve Day, www.nationalsoftserveday.com.

Order your “Celebration Kit” from Frostline today.

The most time sensitive tasks are requesting your complimentary “Celebration Kit” and Frostline t-shirts, as quantities are limited. The “Celebration Kit” contains turnkey POS materials like posters, window clings and stickers. As you know, Frostline isn’t stingy when it comes to our professionally created digital content. Feel free to download our unique National Soft Serve Day images so that you can share them with your customers. Furthermore, make sure to click the image that brings you to our soft serve contest. We are giving away a year’s supply of soft serve mix! Just think of the profit you’re already making by using our cost effective, quality dry mix.

While you on the website, please check in on our task force, “People Against Ice Cream Related Accidents” (PAICA). The group is working hard to showcase the common pain points of serving hard-packed ice cream, such as “scoop burnout”, “deep dip discomfort” and “lopsided limb”. Feel free to share with us on our Facebook or Twitter pages an embarrassing or memorable incident where you experienced an ice cream party foul or on-the-job fail.

We look forward to your success with National Soft Serve Day. Make sure to use the hashtag #NationalSoftServeDay so that we “soft-servers” can celebrate together and have a little fun!

Let’s face it…customers love delicious soft serve choices but having just one soft serve machine can limit your creativity. STOP! That’s a myth. The truth is that there is a simple way to flavor traditional vanilla and chocolate soft serve to drive repeat business. Operators can easily and affordably achieve specialty flavors by mixing in a Flavor Packet from Frostline®. Imagine offering Vanilla and Strawberry Shortcake or Vanilla and Chocolate Mint. Now think of it as a “swirl” of flavor.

Operators often feature a flavor-of-the-day or weekly LTO (limited time offer). This is a wonderful way to draw more traffic to restaurants and independent shops; only make sure to shout it to the rooftops. Promoting new flavors on social media platforms can pique interests and motivate patrons to visit sooner than later. Another helpful hint is to request that customers “check in” on Facebook and share pictures on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and/or Tumblr. This a fun way to promote your operation and encourage guests to visit.

Holidays and events become even more promotable when seasonal themes are incorporated. Making new twists on traditional ideas such as “Eggnog in July” or “Orange October” can get customers thinking about soft serve more often; translating into higher sales. Winter months are a great time to feature specialty flavors like Peppermint, Gingerbread, and Pumpkin.

Another benefit to using Flavor Packets is that operators can plan promotions in advance with the peace of mind that the flavor is immediately accessible on the shelf. Like our soft serve mix, Flavor Packets are a dry mix. They store flat on storage shelves and have a one year shelf life.

Dub Lewis opened Dub’s Drive-In almost 65 years ago and remains a favorite stop for locals and tourists.

Opened in 1951 by its namesake “Dub Lewis”, Dub’s Drive-In has been a favorite stop for the people of Sandpoint, Idaho ever since. In 1987, Marty Mires purchased the restaurant after moving to Sandpoint from Florida. Marty’s father had retired in Sandpoint so Marty chose to follow him and was looking for something new to do.

Dub’s Drive-In is located across the street from Dub’s Field where spring and summer baseball and softball are played. Many of the teams are sponsored by the eatery and they have employed high school students for so long that former employees children now work there. When Sandpoint locals are giving directions to visitors they always refer to Dub’s as a focal point – “take a right at Dub’s” or “it’s just past Dub’s on the left”.

Famous for their soft serve ice cream, they serve up giant cones, sundaes, shakes, dipped cones with sprinkles and more. In the early days, they used so much dairy mix that the local dairy had to deliver soft serve mix to them every day. Even then, they ended up giving Marty a key to the plant so he could go and pick up more mix during evenings and weekends. Business was good but managing the high volume of dairy mix with their limited storage was a real problem.

After extensive testing the decision was made, they switched to Frostline and never looked back.

Then, sometime around 2005, an insightful sales person (some think it was our own Floyd B. Case) brought Marty a sample of Frostline® soft serve mix. Marty and the entire Dub’s team were skeptical at best. A dry mix? Lactose-free? But they tried it and found it was not only a wonderfully delicious product but it also helped them in so many ways:

No more daily deliveries and weekend stops to the dairy. Frostline didn’t need refrigeration.

Now they could offer flavors besides Vanilla and Chocolate with the flavor packets that were available with Frostline products.

They only had to clean their machines once a week instead of everyday. What a huge deal!

Frostline lowered their food cost by almost half.

After extensive testing the decision was made, they switched to Frostline and never looked back. Now their store proudly promotes “lactose-free” soft serve and their customers are still coming in droves. The flavor packets help provide new, fun options that are great for seasonal promotions. The dairy was very sad about losing such a great customer but everyone else was thrilled! Now, Dub’s employees tell stories about how many buckets of Frostline they had to mix over the weekend (they have at least 6 buckets of vanilla and four buckets of chocolate pre-mixed and ready to go at all times). They have won awards for “best ice cream in the city”, many times, and are still the place to hang out for the local kids.

Today Dub’s, under Marty’s guiding hand, has grown and added more inside space for their customers. Marty’s brother Joe opened “Serve-A-Burger” across town and uses nothing but Frostline as well. Although the car hops are gone, the wonderful sound of happy families enjoying an evening dessert after a ball game is still the norm at Dub’s.

They only had to clean their machines once a week instead of everyday. What a huge deal!

It’s hard not to be proud to be a part of such a wonderful and important institution like Dub’s and to know that we have helped them to succeed. If you’re ever in northern Idaho, you must stop in for a giant cone and to say “hi” to Marty and his team.

With the arrival of the New Year, foodservice professionals pay special attention to what researchers predict as the next big trend for the industry. On the non-commercial side, beverages are always important, and smoothies stand out with the largest growth potential according to a recent article in Foodservice Director.

Consumers are looking for healthier drink choices and smoothies answer the call with a variety of fruit, seed and vegetable ingredients.

So what exactly IS a smoothie? In addition to fresh fruit, many smoothies include ice, frozen fruit, syrups, or even vegetables. They have a milkshake-like consistency that is thicker than a slushie. They also often contain a dairy-component such as milk, yogurt or ice cream. What’s best in a smoothie? Anything you want: fresh or frozen fruit, vegetables, seeds, oats, protein powders, herbs, spices, yogurt, milk, juice…the ingredient possibilities are endless. The benefits of this beverage is the versatility of the ingredients you can include and as diverse as the kitchen ingredients currently on the shelf, in the refrigerator or with your local supplier or farmer’s market.

Foodservice Director says that blended drinks will rule the roost in the C&U market. That makes sense as students are on the go and lean towards a quick meal or snack to keep them going. Surviving on a college budget, a $5 smoothie for a meal replacement is attractive. Also, this youthful market is flooded with information through technology 24/7. They hear the latest news on nutrition and disease prevention which greatly impacts their buying behavior and lifestyle choices.

In healthcare, smoothies are an easy way for people to take in essential nutrients on their time schedule regardless of ability. Smoothies are easy to sip, fresh and flavorful, and provide a cool, refreshing meal replacement or snack for patients, visitors, and staff. Plus, smoothies can be easily tailored to meet nutritional goals with the addition of nutrients and healthful supplements.

If you’re looking to add a “winner” to your 2015 beverage menu, it is definitely worth considering smoothies. Commercial and non-commercial markets show growth potential, with C&U and Hospitals showing the most promise. However, with the millennial population growing in purchase power, restaurants, fast casual, fast food and frozen yogurt and ice cream shops should be ready for increasing demand.

Big warehouse stores like Costco and Sam’s have carried products in bulk for many years but you may notice a new player in town – one that doesn’t have a club membership fee – the Gordon Food Service Store. Have you seen one? These 170 stores are located primarily in the Midwest but can also be found in Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. For a location finder, please click here.

The Gordon Food Service Store is a division of Gordon Food Service, the nation’s largest family-owned foodservice distributor. Why are we telling you about this store? Because they stock our Frostline Simply Smoothies™ base mix as well as our Chocolate and Vanilla soft serve mixes. The chain also carries DOLE Soft Serve’s soft serve mix varieties in Pineapple and Orange.

Healthier Eating Lends Itself to Smoothies

The benefit of shopping at a Gordon Food Service Store is that you get the expertise of a foodservice company that understands the complexities of cooking in bulk and the time limitations for shopping. Their goal is to line their shelves with the most popular food service products including restaurant supplies, paper products and refrigerated, frozen and dry foods so that you can get what you need, when you need it, at a price that works. Plus, for smaller businesses, shipping charges can really eat into food costs. If you’ve located a store near you, it might be worth the trip to stock up on dry soft serve and frozen beverage mixes. With a year shelf-life, there isn’t the worry of spoilage. For more food cost savings, their website houses money-saving coupons and a weekly savings ad. Another value-added benefit through Gordon Food Service is custom menu planning with Menu Wizard and Gordon GO!, a loyalty program.

If you are a restaurant, non-profit, hotel, day-care, caterer or party planner, you might check them out. After all, it’s nice to experience something new in the New Year that could save you time and money. Win-win!

Gordon Food Service Store understands cooking in bulk and shopping time limitations.

As the foodservice industry continues to evolve, there are certain strategies that are timeless. Serving great food in a great atmosphere at a fair price is one of those tenants that create success. As we look around our industry we continue to see pioneers who step out by faith to start a business that has one of the highest failure rates in business. Yet these passionate foodies seek to find a niche in every market in our country. So how do we help them succeed?

Passionate food service entrepreneurs are always looking for the latest trends. “Sustainability and waste reduction are increasingly important issues across the restaurant and foodservice industry,” according to Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, National Restaurant Association as stated in an October 2013 press release. It’s on everyone’s radar. This creates both challenges and opportunities when it applies to distribution and how food manufacturers respond to this trend.

Small footprint restaurants are emerging quickly. We continue to see a great number of new restaurants opening in 1,200-1,500 square feet locations. This creates opportunities for small distributors, cash and carry stores as well as local farms to supply this type of operation. Cash flow is priority for these new entrepreneurs and high dollar drop sizes tie up much needed cash. With the large broadline distributors requiring drop sizes of $500 or more, it limits the small operator’s ability to meet these demands. And along with the smaller footprint comes less refrigerated and freezer space. This is where dry mix companies can capitalize. Dry mix products take up less storage space and offer the operator small batch options. Frostline is a leader in dry mix frozen treats, offering flavor varieties, simplicity and cost control.

As I stated earlier, there are foundational elements that will never change. People buy from people, and they buy more from people who take an active interest in their success. Manufacturer sales reps, broker sales reps and distributor sales reps are most successful when they bring the operator solutions. Today’s environment requires more than a good price, we need to provide menu applications that are on trend and a consulting sales approach with the end result of bringing more customers through our customers’ doors. And one last thing that should never change in a sales call is asking for the order. If we can apply these things to our daily business strategies we will all succeed.

It’s near 2015 and foodservice operators are looking at predicted trends for the New Year. As the latest health and nutritional information floods the web, we know consumers will continue to demand healthier, simpler, more clearly labeled foods. Another trend we anticipate escalating in our busy world is convenience. When you combine these trends, fruit and vegetable smoothies become the perfect response to consumer requirements. According to IFT (Institute of Food Technologists), beverages remain the largest U.S. functional product sector¹.

Just add kiwi, lemonade, Simply Smoothies base mix, water and ice.

Does your establishment currently have a smoothie offering? If not, we think 2015 is the year to invest in a blender and start experimenting with flavor. Our Simply Smoothies™ base mix is a powder base mix that makes it easy to create rich, creamy smoothies without the need for an expensive yogurt or dairy base. Your shopping list can focus on fruits (fresh or frozen) and vegetables (fresh or frozen), or perhaps you’ll find that the best flavor combinations are made with items you already buy and have on hand.

Our product has been tested and blends easily in most commercial blenders but if you don’t currently own a good blender, we recommend you check out Blendtec and Vitamix. Consumer Reports’ experts agree with us, listing the top two picks as the Vitamix 5200 and the Blendtec Designer 725. Check out the complete article here. A reliable, powerful blender is a necessity for making a large volume of smoothies on a regular basis. Blending ice and frozen fruit can sometimes jam or break blender blades. Obviously, this is not a welcome surprise. Also, blenders vary with longevity so making sure to research long-term durability is key.

Over 30 smoothie recipes to blend.

Once you have your blender and are ready to experiment, we’ve put together a recipe Idea Book as well as seasonal flyers for winter, spring, summer and fall to get you started. Colorful veggies like carrots, kale, and chard easily combine with berries and melons to make a super-food smoothie. Want to give it a whirl? Leave us a comment and we’ll send you a sample of our Simply Smoothie base mix. It is gluten free, low fat and low sodium – a portrait of the 2015 healthy food trend.

Step 4 – Pour the mixture into your commercial soft serve machine (Frostline works in ALL commercial soft serve machines) or cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. FDA requires product temperature to reduce to 41°F within 4 hours and to remain at or below 41°F.

Once your mix is inside of the hopper, you should have The Perfect Frozen Treat™ in about 10 minutes (please refer to your machine’s owner’s manual for exact freezing times)! The liquid yield for each mix is 2.5 gallons per bag or 15 gallons per case. Frostline estimates you get about 113 – ½ cup prepared servings per bag and about 678 servings per case If you have any questions or want to place an order, please call us at 1-800-442-5242.

Please check out our newest mixing video on YouTube to see Frostline in ACTION!

Excuses, excuses! No more excuses not to eat birthday cake! We recently perfected our newest soft serve flavor Birthday Cake and it is BLUE! You might ask why we choose this flavor and color combination over a billion other combinations? The answer is simple – we think it’s time for a celebration!

Kids perusing an ice cream parlor are drawn to a selection that makes a statement with a bold color and a crazy fun name. We’ve all been there…red, blue, orange, black, purple, hot pink; they exude fun AND hold the possibility of a color-stained tongue. Don’t believe us? Tom Kerber Jr. of Kerber’s Dairy in Pennsylvania said, “Most kids…they don’t care what flavor the ice cream is…they care what color!” He added, “…Anything that sounds really goofy or fun, they like that!” reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Bright colors and creative names don’t just attract kids but they are proven to attract the young at heart too. According to Food Business News in May, manufacturers are “keying in on childhood classics, with s’mores, peanut butter and jelly, and birthday cake among featured flavors in new products.” Birthday cake’s popularity resulted in the introduction of birthday cake-flavored M&M’s, Oreos, vodka, and America’s favorite Easter chicks – Peeps.

There is no denying that color attracts but when it’s in a soft serve machine, flavor variations are equally as important. Plus, let’s face it, there is a seasonality to soft serve, and a good survival tactic in the off-season is offering trendy flavors. In response to the “featured flavor” trend, we created flavor packets that can be purchased in packs of 12 and 36 and yield 113 servings per packet. Favorites for fall include, Pumpkin, Kettle Corn and Dulce de Leche. Once the winter holidays set in, Peppermint, Egg Nog and Gingerbread are safe bets and when spring arrives, Matcha Green Tea, Banana Split and Chocolate Lovers fit the bill. At the height of soft serve season, adding flavors such as Valencia Orange, Strawberry Shortcake and Sun-Ripened Raspberry can be a refreshing change. Check out our complete list here.

Give them a “cup of joe” in the form of soft serve.

Although, flavor packets make implementing seasonal flavors quick and easy, Frostline has many recipes for creating your own unique soft serve just by adding one additional ingredient to our soft serve mix. For example, soda varieties like Mountain Dew, Cherry Coke or Dr. Pepper create a taste-tempting teenage delight and for younger kids, adding grape juice or apple cider lures them in! For adults, black coffee easily transforms into “a cone of joe” or a local microbrew will spike up a hopper quickly and tastefully!

Want to try our newest flavor – Birthday Cake? Please leave us a comment on this blog and we will send you a sample. All you need is a soft serve machine and vanilla soft serve mix! The flavor packet is easily added while mixing the soft serve mix with water. Check out our newest mixing video!

Celebrate EVERYDAY with Frostline! For pennies per serving, you can attract families to dine at your restaurant or soft serve shop and keep coming back for more! Especially if you rotate seasonal flavors in between your gold standard vanilla and chocolate!

The dreaded drip n’ slip, broken ice cream scoops, arm and wrist scoopers’ pain, tension from ice cream balls falling off of the cone, deep dip hip discomfort from leaning into the freezer, and the awful cross contamination of ice cream scoops being dipped in different flavors. The dangers of hard-packed ice cream are evident. We say “Put Down the Scoop” and save people from ice cream related accidents! This is why we are working with “People Against Ice Cream Related Accidents (PAICRA) to promote soft serve ice cream – the safer frozen treat!

Soft Serve is the safer choice! Put Down The Scoop!

In all seriousness, Frostline® Frozen Treats, is celebrating National Soft Serve Day, August 19. We invite operators to join us in a little fun centered on the benefits of serving soft serve ice cream over traditional hard packed ice cream. We created PAICRA, a fictional organization, to shine a light on scoop-related injuries and misfortunes. Utilizing social media, we plan to showcase humorous mishaps that often occur when scooping hard packed ice cream as well as encourage soft serve vendors to share stories or images with us and their followers. Other fun ways to celebrate National Soft Serve Day include hosting tallest swirl contests, offering discounts on soft serve, or highlighting new, unique flavor varieties.

Restaurants, frozen yogurt shops and other businesses who offer soft serve ice cream are encouraged by Frostline® to participate in the August 19 national holiday. We have limited supplies of t-shirts, posters, and product samples to support your efforts. Please leave us a comment on this blog and we will be in touch!